Hiroshige | Ota, 69 Stations of the KisoKaido
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
木曾街道六十九次 太田
Ota, from the series of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido
1836–40
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.4 x 37.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban yoko -e | 24.4 x 37.5cm
中期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相完好
Middle impression, strong color, good condition
$1,800
《木曾海道六拾九次之内》，又称《木曾街道六拾九次之内》，是歌川广重及溪斋英泉（1790-1848）于1835至1837年联合创作的风景绘系列。全套共计71幅，描绘了从日本桥至整个中山道（又称木曾海道）上69个驿所的独特风光。太田，中山道的第51处宿场，位于今岐阜县美浓加茂市。此处的渡口河道狭窄，浪流湍急，是中山道内出了名的艰险之地，就连不少经验丰富的摆渡高手，都曾在这里栽过跟头。但在广重的画中，我们所看到的却是一派风平浪静，轻松和谐的景象。从现今遗留下的广重速写来看，可以确信本作是一幅实景的再现。太田渡口，松似迎客，川上数舟，前景河岸上，右方为坐石歇脚的两名游子，左边是一对风尘仆仆，手拄木杖的朝圣者。他们应该与中景内的三人一样，正在等待着行船启航。越过天蓝色的水面，极目远方，只见红霞山外山，松涛阵阵，树影幢幢。本作画面平实，景别舒适，颇有些话剧舞台的效果，能使观者在视线移转间就不自觉地陷落，缓缓沉醉进了这流动的“等待”情绪之中。
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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Ando Hiroshige (1897-1858) revolutionized the art of landscape prints during the Edo era, building on the success of his senior, Hokusai, but taking a more poetic and naturalist approach to portraying the beauty of Japan.
The son of a low-level Samurai assigned to the fire brigade in Edo, Hiroshige became a student of the Utagawa school as a young man. His first prints focused on beautiful women (bijin), and views of Edo. But in 1833 he began work on his most famous early work, his first series depicting the Tokaido, the "Great Sea Road" between Edo and Tokyo.
Today there is some controversy about this series. Initially, it was believed that Hiroshige had travelled the route along with a local lord (Daimyo) who was making a gift of horses to the Emperor. But more recent scholarship suggests Hiroshige never travelled the road himself, at least not the entire way, and made his designs using published guidebooks.
Nonetheless, the prints were wonderful and revolutionary. They embraced the seasons with a gentle lyricism missing from Hokusai's striking but stylized depictions. In Hiroshige's work, nature is sacred -- but it is always mixed with humanity, with travelers or little inns or bridges. There is a magical harmony between man and the elements.
His depiction of the seasons and weather is especially evocative. Snow blankets some views with a hushed silence, while rain streaks down furiously in others. In some prints natured is agitated; in others, calm prevails. Produced in a horizontal oban yoko-e format, the series was a smash hit.
The Tokaido series made Hiroshige famous, and he became incredible prolific. In the 1840s he produced many strong designs, but many mediocre ones, too, including several subsequent Tokaido series of varying quality.
In 1853, however, he made a big step. He turned his landscapes sideways, embracing a bold vertical oban tate-e format. This gave his designs new energy and a modern feel. The first of these was Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. From them on, most of his most noted series were executed in this format.
He saved his greatest for his last. In 1856 he began work on 100 Famous Views of Edo, which many consider his most exceptional work. Here his home city was portrayed with energy and passion, and in these 119 designs he created an incredible record of a vanished place. In addition to the striking vertical format, he developed exciting new compositions, often juxtaposing a strong foreground element with a distant background.
Among the many famous images in this series are Squall at Ohashi and the Plum Garden in Komeido. Both of these were copied by Vincent Van Gogh, a great admirer of Hiroshige. Thus, the great Japanese artist had a profound effect on Western art.
Alas, his beloved Edo ended his life. Hiroshige was claimed by a cholera epidemic that swept the city in 1958. His pupil Shigenobu, who took the name Hiroshige II, completed The Famous Views of Edo.